


Let Them Have This Night

by Thiebes



Category: Black Sails
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Rarepair, background silverflint if you squint, just let them have this, muldoon is a soft drunk, pep-talk, self deprecation, set in 2.08, silver doesn't know how to take a compliment, silver has secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29544027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thiebes/pseuds/Thiebes
Summary: The Walrus crew let loose a little on the way to Charlestown.
Relationships: Muldoon/John Silver (Black Sails)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Let Them Have This Night

**Author's Note:**

> I was supposed to be working on my BS cowboy AU, and then this happened.

The Warship is alight tonight. A cacophony of drunken voices drift up to the stars from the deck of the ship. The crew is gathered across all surfaces, drinks in hand. They are on their way to Charlestown to deliver Abigail Ashe to her father. For the first time probably ever, there are women on board the ship.

  
Flint takes a sip from his tankard, looking down to the deck. Lilting notes from a fiddle drifted to his ears over the sound of the men, and he couldn’t suppress a small swell in his chest. He hadn’t heard music in far too long. The heads below begin to move about, following the music as they danced or swayed in place. His eye caught on a particular head, one bedecked with dark coils of hair that glistened in the lantern light. Silver.

  
Flint’s eyes followed him as he floated across the deck, a wide smile playing on his lips as he moved. His movements were fluid, his body lithe and lean. Flint leaned on the railing, as if the pull of Silver was magnetic enough to drag him forward without him noticing. It struck him that this was one of the rare times that the smile Silver wore was genuine.

  
Silver reached out a hand from the middle of the deck, and moments later, a slender one rose to take it. Miranda beams at him, her eyes bright and merry. He had almost forgotten what that expression had looked like. She was here on the Warship, surrounded by dirty men and the sea, but she shined as though she were in a ballroom in London. Silver was shining too, though he couldn’t imagine him in London finery. He led her through the circle of dancers, the two of them smiling and laughing as they danced. He sees Abigail blushing as she sneaks glances at Billy.

  
He dares to feel a little hope for the future.

  
\--  
Silver, despite himself, is having a good time. He dances with Mrs. Barlow, sings along with the men. He doesn’t know the words to the shanties, but he can follow along well enough. A lie is on his lips and in the back of his mind. Vincent’s eyes follow him, and he tries not to look.

  
But he is near Muldoon, who smiles brightly at him. HIs hands are warm. He allows himself this moment of happiness.

Muldoon kisses him later when the dancing has died down. Only the soft rabble of a few drunken pirates hum through the warship. The rest have gone below or sunk into a stupor on the deck.

  
Muldoon had been drinking through the night, his cheeks ruddy with it, and a slight giddiness to his movements. Silver had indulged as well, enough to relax him, but not enough to loosen his lips.

  
He was nearing the end of a story, the two of them side by side on a crate by the main mast. The stars were out, bright and twinkling in the inky black of the night. SIlver stared up at them, his voice drifting off into silence. He had glanced at the sky like this many times, but tonight they held a quiet beauty that he had never quite had the luxury to appreciate. He felt calm and warmth bubbling up inside of him, and he wondered at it. Could this be contentment?

  
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Muldoon’s voice was like butter in the warm air, slurred slightly by the drink. He followed Silver’s gaze, his head plopping down on Silver’s shoulder as he did so.

  
“ I’ve never quite given them their due,” He replied softly.

  
“ Shame, that,” said Muldoon. He took another swig from his tankard. “ We ain't properly given you your due, neither.”

  
“Oh? How’s that?” Silver chuckled at the thought.

  
“ You talk a big game about being selfish, but I ain’t seen anyone on this crew half as helpful as you. “

  
Silver’s brow wrinkled in confusion, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Muldoon held a finger to his lips.

  
“ Shh. I know you can’t cook worth a shit. I know you’re not a sailor. But I also know we wouldn’t be here without you. Savin’ Flint, helpin’ him. Showing us the gold. And what’s more, you’ve been watchin’ our backs. It’s what Gates couldn’t do.'' Silver couldn’t help the drag in his stomach at the mention of the gold. He swallowed it, not wanting to spoil the night with guilt. Muldoon was looking him straight in the eyes, and he tried to meet them.

  
“Things have changed since you joined the crew. Got better, somehow. We need you."

  
Muldoon’s finger is still resting against Silver’s lips, as if he forgot it was there. He is staring at Silver with an intensity that only a drunk man can achieve, yet his eyes are clear. A flush has been creeping up his neck as he spoke, to match the one in his cheeks from the rum. Silver’s heart beats just a little bit faster under Muldoon’s gaze. He let the words wash over him. It had been some time since anyone had spoken of him with such warmth. Confusion rose in him at this man, who a few months earlier had only referred to him as “Cur”, could somehow be fixed on him with such tenderness.

  
Muldoon lets his index finger fall from silver’s mouth, only to replace it with his thumb. His eyes trace Silver’s lips as the pad of his thumb brushes over them gently. Silver inhales sharply, but doesn’t break their gaze. Muldoon’s hand is grasped gently under his chin, and Silver presses into it, surprising himself at his own need for contact. The heat of it is comforting.

  
“I ain't got no right to ask,” Muldoon says softly, “ but I would love to kiss you."

  
God, he was so warm. Thick, strong hands buried themselves in his hair. He could feel Muldoon’s breath on his lips, and he closed his eyes and sunk into them. They were soft under the bristle of his beard. They brushed lightly together at first, letting the soft touch of each other wash over them. Muldoon paused, waiting for Silver to go further or pull away. His hands slid from Silver’s chin to his cheek, stroking his face with calloused fingers. His eyes held a steady hunger and a promise. And then Silver opened his mouth and let him in.

  
Tongue slid over tongue, beard over beard, and Muldoon’s hands were all over him. They were the hands of a man that had wanted this for a long time. Yet they were undemanding. Reverent, even. They found themselves in his hair, on his chest, on his thigh, roaming along his body like the touch of him could bring a dead man back to life. And God, Silver was weak to it. He had been thrashed around so much these past months, by rough men and the rough sea. Any touch that wasn’t meant as a threat felt like a blessing upon his skin. Even if this never happened again, and he and Muldoon went their separate ways in the morning, he would savour it. He could feel himself being enveloped by the warmth of the other man, and it was good.

  
It wasn’t till their movements knocked the tankard onto the deck that they broke apart, breathless. They watched it roll away from them, sloshing the deck with a crescent of the leftover alcohol. Muldoon gave him a sheepish look that slowly turned into a chuckle, and then the both of them were laughing.

  
Silver rested his head back on the mast, closing his eyes. It was ridiculous to feel this good. There were too many worries he had been pushing down, too many plans and deceits and dangers he had been managing. Yet he was here, being touched gently by a man who looked at him like he meant something. Like he was someone worthy of attention. Was he dreaming?

  
He cracked an eye open, and Muldoon was looking out into the sea. HIs hand still rested on SIlver’s thigh, and he sighed contentedly.

  
He almost didn’t say anything. He tried to suppress the words, but they bubbled up and out of his mouth before he could clamp down on them. “ Why are you being so kind to me?”  
Muldoon’s head swiveled around to look at him, his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

  
“I’ve done nothing but lie to you all since I joined you. ” he continued. “My first act as a crewmember was to steal the schedule, something a man got killed for. So why--? “

  
“None of us on this ship are saints, Silver. Not a one. But we ain’t monsters, neither. You’re a good man.“

  
He heard Muldoon’s words from earlier in the back of his mind. We need you. It held echoes of Flint’s words to him back in Nassau. He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about Flint, and the chasm in his heart that was growing larger the longer he colluded with the Captain.

  
He chanced a glance at Muldoon, who had been silent while Silver was inside his own head. The man had a contemplative look on his face as he regarded silver. There was sympathy there, and to Silver’s surprise, regret.

  
“ Right.” Muldoon sighed deeply, looking up at the sky. “Remember when you first joined on, and I was a right cunt to ye? I was aggressive for no reason. Called you names, and the like.” He winced at the memory of it. SIlver didn’t say anything.

  
“ I didn’t hate you,specifically. I was just angry. Angry at the captain for lyin’, angry at the sun for bein’ too hot, just...angry. I get that way sometimes. Rage issue.” His hand gripped silver’s thigh a bit tighter.

  
“And when we found out that you were the real thief, well. There was so much going on at the time, I couldn’t really think on it. The gold was there, after all.”

  
“ I had no idea what that page was when I took it from the old cook. I was going to sell it. To Charles Vane, of all people. Only Flint found me first. “ Silver didn’t know why he was admitting this. The way Muldoon was looking at him made him feel like he owed him that much. It seemed like such a long time since the day he left the merchant ship. The day Flint had hunted them down and changed his entire life. He laughed a bit at the ridiculousness of the situation. He wondered if Rackham had reached the beach yet.

  
“Captain fuckin’ Flint.” Muldoon mused, smiling. He nudged Silver’s elbow with his own. “ Well, I’m glad he did.”

  
Silver smiled and closed his eyes again. He placed his hand over Muldoon’s on his thigh. He felt those strong fingers twist and lock between his own. He had no idea how this whole mess would play out. But he was here, in this moment, content.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this sap-fest. Hope it doesn't feel too much like a bait-and-switch. 
> 
> I'm asterofthevoid on tumblr if you wanna yell at me about Black Sails. :3


End file.
